Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka blazed 52 off 26 deliveries in the powerplay as Delhi Capitals chased down 226 to beat Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, returning to winning ways in IPL 2026.
Captain KL Rahul also crossed fifty in the middle overs, scoring at better than two runs a ball, before Nitish Rana sealed the chase with 33 off 17. The Island, citing Cricinfo, called it Delhi’s “highest successful chase without seemingly having to come out of third gear.”
Mitchell Starc, returning to the Delhi attack, took three wickets to peg back the Royals after they elected to bat first. Riyan Parag top-scored for Rajasthan with 90 off 50 balls, supported by Donovan Fereira’s unbeaten 47 off 14 — the second-best Impact Player finish for the Royals this season.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the teenage opener who has hit first-ball sixes off Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins this campaign, played on a Kyle Jamieson yorker and never reached the Starc end. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit Starc for a first-ball six but offered a return chance two balls later off a high full toss.
Nissanka’s powerplay assault, KL Rahul’s middle-overs acceleration and Rana’s late-innings finishing formed a three-stage chase that never lost momentum. The win arrests a brief slump for Delhi Capitals.
The performance is the latest by a Sri Lankan in the IPL 2026 cycle. Pathirana returned for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this season after his fitness clearance, while Dasun Shanaka was banned by the PCB for unilaterally leaving Lahore Qalandars to join the Royals as an Impact Player.
Source: The Island (citing Cricinfo).
